How Family's Cross-Country Move Became a Load of Trouble

One family's cross-country move turned into a nightmare when the company they'd hired to transport their belongings allegedly sent an unscrupulous subcontractor instead.

Neighbors Moving & Storage gave the Rammell family a quote of $5,000 to haul an estimated 8,000 pounds from Maine to Arizona. But when the mover showed up, he wasn't actually an employee of Neighbors Moving & Storage. It turns out (as the above video explains), that company is a "broker," despite identifying itself prominently on its website as "Consumer Business Review's Mover of the Year! 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012." Its function, as it explains in the fine print, is to calculate cost estimates and find licensed motor carriers to do the jobs.

So the Rammells found themselves dealing with a different company, Moving Express & Storage of New Jersey, which demanded an additional $4,300, saying the the family's stuff weighed more than expected. The Rammells asked for the truck to be weighed to confirm the new estimate, but the mover reportedly wouldn't do it. (In an email to ABC News, Moving Express & Storage claimed that the nearby weigh stations were closed due to severe weather, and that Mrs. Rammell declined a company representative's offer to drive to the closest open station.)

With their possessions allegedly being held hostage, the family said that they would pay the higher fee. Their stuff arrived, in the truck of an independent contractor -- the job having been farmed out once again. That man was arrested at the scene, however, for violations including alcohol and drugs in the cab of his truck.